16 May 2008

MN quashes red-light-revenue-stream overreach

Chris Baker, our old friend and the Twin Cities' hottest talker, passes along this interesting bit of news from his new home:

Drivers nabbed by the now-outlawed photo-cop red-light enforcement program in Minneapolis will get most of their fines back and their records cleansed under a settlement approved today by the Minneapolis City Council.

The proposed $2.6 million settlement would reimburse roughly 15,000 drivers who got tickets under the program, according to attorneys. They paid $142 each but legal fees and other costs will be subtracted from that under the settlement.

But the city's sign-off on the settlement is contingent on the state and Hennepin County also agreeing to their split of the fine money toward the settlements.

The conviction for running a red light will also be expunged from driving records, according to Marshall Tanick, the lead attorney for drivers involved.

"That's very important to people," he said. The city will pay $10,000 toward the state's costs to expunge records.

Tanick said that those convicted also will get a letter that they can use with their insurer to argue against cancellation or revocation of insurance or rate increases that may have resulted.

The city's photo surveillance program used images of vehicles that ran red lights to cite the owner of the vehicle. The Minnesota Supreme Court last year backed the ruling of lower courts that holding the owner of a vehicle responsible for the actions of whoever was driving it was unconstitutional.

The county had earlier dismissed citations issued to 4,200 people that hadn't been sent on to the court.

The agreement was negotiated in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the drivers where were ticketed and paid fines. The city also agreed to pay the state $10,000 for the costs of expunging the offense from driver license records.

We've long criticized Houston's red-light camera scheme on due-process grounds, since the owner of a car is presumed guilty of running a red light even in the complete absence of positive photo proof that he/she was actually driving. It's good to see that the highest court of at least one state shares those concerns.

Of course, the municipalities and small-time pols who engaged in red-light-revenue-stream overreach probably aren't too happy about it.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/16/08 10:17 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)

A little bit of Greece...

Houston's other big Greek Orthodox Church is putting on its Greek Festival this weekend.

If you're in West Houston, be sure to check it out.

Apparently there will even be a gyro-eating contest. In our two weeks recently spent in Greece, we ran across no such contests. I feel so ripped off now!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/16/08 09:59 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)

15 May 2008

Mayor White wants to streamline permitting

KHOU-11's Lee McGuire has a story about how difficult one man has found it to get his guide dog's license renewed every year. This prompted Mayor White to send a memo to all city departments:

“I am not satisfied with the way our city handles the billing and collection of fees,” Mayor Bill White said in the memo.

And some agree.

“Today I think it’s probably a pain,” Alfred Moran with the Administration and Regulatory Affairs said.

Moran is in charge of fixing the problem, and after four months he thinks he has the solution.

It seems like Houston requires permits for not just dog tags but for many things. Permits for antique dealers, burglar alarms, valet parking and fruit ripening are only a few.

We have noted for several years that Mayor White has a revenue-stream fetish, but fruit ripening?? Really?!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/15/08 08:17 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)

Kirby Drive project oops (updated)

The Chron's Jennifer Friedberg reports that the Kirby Drive expansion has run into a problem:

A design error could set back the start date for half of Segment 4 from Bissonnet to U.S. 59 by about two years, possibly costing the city an extra $1 million or more and involving a 15-foot condemnation of businesses on the east side or both sides of Kirby.

With Segment 3 from Swift to Robinhood in progress and Segment 4 from Robinhood to U.S. 59 in the design phase, design engineer firm Brown & Gay Engineers Inc. realized several months ago it had miscalculated the amount of land the city of Houston has and what it needs to finish off the project.

Specifically, the snafu was that Brown & Gay believed Houston had a 100-foot right of way to work with from Bissonnet north to U.S. 59.

That assumption was off by 15 feet in five spots on Kirby, with designers believing the city owned a uniform 15-foot segment between the curb and business property lines.

The areas where Houston does not own that 15 feet include the land in front of Helfman River Oaks Chrysler Jeep, Charisma Car Wash, Burger King, Goode Company Barbecue, and a sliver of land between Goode Co. and the Burger King.

So now Segment 4 is being divided into Phases A and B, breaking at Bissonnet. Phase B is being redesigned.

UPDATE: I'm amused: A reader notes that the West U and River Oaks Examiners carried this story on April 29th, so the Chron was actually reporting some serious "olds."

And of course, then there's me posting on the olds and not having been aware of when it was news. Ah well.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/15/08 04:54 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (7)

14 May 2008

The Ants

Just what we need -- crazy ants that are hard to kill:

In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers.

[snip]

The ants—formally known as “paratrenicha species near pubens”—have spread to five Houston-area counties since they were first spotted in Texas in 2002.

The newly recognized species is believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston. Scientists are not sure exactly where the ants came from, but their cousins, commonly called crazy ants, are found in the Southeast and the Caribbean.

“At this point, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate the ant because it is so widely dispersed,” said Roger Gold, a Texas A&M University entomologist.

The good news? They eat fire ants, the stinging red terrors of Texas summers.

But the ants also like to suck the sweet juices from plants, feed on such beneficial insects as ladybugs, and eat the hatchlings of a small, endangered type of grouse known as the Attwater prairie chicken.

They also bite humans, though not with a stinger like fire ants.

Worse, they, like some other species of ants, are attracted to electrical equipment, for reasons that are not well understood by scientists.

They have ruined pumps at sewage pumping stations, fouled computers and at least one homeowner’s gas meter, and caused fire alarms to malfunction. They have been spotted at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and close to Hobby Airport, though they haven’t caused any major problems there yet.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/14/08 08:28 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)

Mayor White's FY 2009 budget

Yesterday, Mayor White rolled out his proposed 2009 budget:

Mayor Bill White unveiled a record $4 billion budget proposal Tuesday, calling for a sharp increase in spending on public safety while cutting the property tax rate by a half-cent.

The mayor's fiscal 2009 budget also would, if approved, create a dedicated set-aside of tax revenues to pay for drainage improvements, fund the addition of 150 police officers and add 50,000 homes to the curbside recycling program.

"Because we've enjoyed strong economic growth, and because we're running City Hall more efficiently, we can afford a tax rate cut of half a penny per $100 of valuation to bring our tax rate down," White said.

City revenue is projected to be $4.07 billion in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. That would be an increase of 6.7 percent over the current fiscal year.

The budget would provide an additional $105 million for police, fire and EMS. Public safety spending makes up 58 percent of the general fund.

The city will fund seven police cadet classes and shift 98 officers from desk and court duties to patrol.

The total police force should reach 5,194 by next summer, according to the spending plan.

White also pointed out plans for 300 new patrol cars, a new police station and property room, new helicopters, and the first phase of a new integrated radio system for first responders.

New to this year's budget is a dedicated funding source for drainage improvements. Subject to council approval, 0.3 cents of every $100 in property value would be dedicated to flooding projects.

More than four years after the city learned that its emergency radio system is antiquated, Mayor White is ready to tackle the first phase of what will ultimately cost at least $160 million. There were just so many other pressing needs ahead of that priority.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/14/08 04:57 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)

13 May 2008

Houston Pavilions: People won't see us unless we have 80 ft tall brightly lit signs!

Mayor White backs an exemption that would allow the Houston Pavilions to have bigger, brighter signs than current rules allow:

Downtown boosters want the city to relax its sign rules for the Houston Pavilions, a $170 million retail and entertainment complex set to open in the fall.

If approved, the change would allow brightly lit signs and heights up to 80 feet above the ground, neither of which currently is allowed through most of downtown, which is a designated "scenic district."

Beautification advocates are balking at the creation of a one-time exception for a single project, arguing the move could open the door to demands from other developers.

The City Council could vote on the change to the sign code as early as Wednesday.

The White administration backs the change, which would create signage guidelines for a special "Entertainment and Retail District" in the three blocks occupied by the Houston Pavilions. The project sits between Main, Caroline, Dallas and Polk.

Planners said the Houston Pavilions requires more visibility and branding, to better attract convention goers and to fill a pedestrian void between downtown hotels and the George R. Brown Convention Center.

[snip]

Downtown is designated a scenic district, so direct illumination, such as neon signs or bare bulbs, is not allowed. Signs also are not allowed to be higher than 42.5 feet. The special district would allow the tenants at Houston Pavilions to use direct illumination, and would allow signs to be placed as high as 80 feet above ground.

The city has invested $5.5 million and Harris County $8.8 million in the project through the Main Street/Market Square TIRZ, or Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone.

Think big, Houston. Think Vegas.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/13/08 06:07 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (25)

A city department tightens its belt

HPD has looked at its budget numbers and determined it needs to cut back on overtime until the end of the fiscal year:

The temporary reduction amounts to slightly less than 10 percent of the approximately $1 million per week that the department has been using to fund overtime pay, officials said.

The cuts are expected to run through June — the end of this fiscal year.

"It's basically an end-of-the-year adjustment. It's nothing new," said Capt. Bruce Williams, an HPD spokesman.

HPD has spent about $38 million so far out of the $54 million allocated this year for the overtime pay.

"We've got about six weeks or so left" in the fiscal year, said Frank Michel, Mayor Bill White's communication director. "You don't want to cut off anything altogether, so you begin to monitor your spending."

It's refreshing to see a government entity so concerned about spending, but this is the one city department that should NOT be cutting back.

Surely something can be cut somewhere else so HPD doesn't have to cut back on protecting Houstonians. Does the city still have a surplus it can use for the one of the most important reasons to have government at all?

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/13/08 05:42 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)

Apartments owned by Sugar Land JP cited by Houston

Matt Stiles continues investigating slum-like apartment buildings, and he found another one with a high-profile owner:

Code enforcement inspectors have issued three misdemeanor citations against Justice of the Peace Jim Richard of Sugar Land, alleging "unsafe" electrical conditions at a complex he owns in southwest Houston.

The inspectors say they warned Richard about the problems at the Braes Timbers Apartments in January but only issued the citations late last month when repairs were not made.

Richard, whose job includes presiding over disputes between landlords and tenants, also has not secured a "certificate of occupancy" — the basic document needed to rent apartments lawfully, officials say.

[snip]

"It's very unfortunate that they dragged my name through the dirt," he said. "I'm continuing to fix the tenant-caused problems, and had (inspectors) notified me, I would have corrected them before they gave me a citation."

Susan McMillian, a deputy director in the city's Public Works and Engineering Department, said code inspectors affixed a bright "red tag" sticker to a prominent wall on the complex in January. She said that it and another notice have since been removed, in violation of city code.

Richard is the second elected official in recent months to be under scrutiny over an apartment complex. Last month, inspectors issued citations under similar circumstances against Vo, a Houston Democrat who has pledged to make repairs at his properties.

Vo and Richard, a Republican elected in 1998, both own "Class D" properties — complexes at the lowest end of an economic scale used by appraisers. That fact surprises at least one consumer advocate.

"You're in a glasshouse. Why would you allow this to happen?" said Dan Parsons, president of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston Inc. "It's so easy to find out, and you put yourself in harm's way."

On the Houston Politics blog, Stiles adds:

The Neighborhood Protection Corps has also ordered repairs at the property three times since last fall. Those inspectors found a damaged parking lot, broken windows, excess trash, loose railings and more.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/13/08 05:06 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)

12 May 2008

This seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars...

KHOU-11 reports that the City of Houston will decide whether or not to allocate $150,000 to defend Chief Hurtt's no facial hair policy:

The case centers around four Houston police officers who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against HPD over their beards.

The officers have not been allowed to wear a uniform because of the department’s strict no facial hair policy.

Yeah, with HPD's manpower shortage, this idea was pure genius: Sideline four officers AND spend thousands of dollars!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/12/08 07:15 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)

Shopping cart retrieval program needs a catchy acronym

Cory Crow is most pleased with HPD's latest crime-reducing program: retrieving abandoned shopping carts:

So, if you add up the benefits of cost control for the owners, crime prevention and neighborhood beautification you end up with a nice, tidy program that actually does something to combat crime.

All of that without an acronym. Good job HPD.

I dunno. This program seems tailor-made for an acronym.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/12/08 07:06 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)

The Chronicle's cheerleading for a soccer stadium

Last week Tom Kirkendall took the Chronicle to task for its sports writers' seemingly pie-in-the-sky hope that TSU will partner with the Dynamo to fund a downtown soccer stadium:

Of course, the article is utterly devoid of details, such as how TSU is going to find any money to throw at this deal, much less make a multi-million dollar investment in it. Heck, the TSU athletic director and the Dynamo's president haven't even met yet, so it doesn't even appear that Dynamo management takes TSU's involvement seriously. Why don't the Chronicle editors just come out and say that they really want the city to finance the downtown soccer stadium and spare us such vapid articles as this one?

Tom also points to a post by Jon Taylor, now blogging at PoliSci@UST, that addresses the economic realities of pro sport franchises and the venues taxpayers buy them. Short point: The benefits generally are slim to none for taxpayers who foot the bill, but quite high for the franchise owner. What a surprise! Five billion dollars of investment downtown, but it's still missing something!

The only thing I would add is that, for all we know, the Chronicle's editorial board could have made a decision to push for a soccer stadium. A couple of years ago, Chron Editor Emeritus Jack Loftis admitted that's what the editorial leadership of the paper decided to do when the city was debating a baseball stadium. And don't forget the Chron's push for light rail. The Chron's editor Jeff Cohen thinks it's the editorial board's business to, "offer guidance about what is good for the people of Houston."

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/12/08 05:13 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (3)

11 May 2008

Well, no wonder the Klein bond Yes people were out stealing Vote No signs!

And no wonder Klein ISD sent home a flyer with elementary school kids titled, "The Truth about the Bond."

The district barely eked out a victory, by a margin of only 312 votes. That's much closer than I ever expected it to be.

A look at the results by elementary school shows that, generally speaking, schools that feed into Klein High voted for the bond, and schools that feed into the other high schools (Klein Forest, Klein Collins, and Klein Oak) voted against the bond. What this shows is a divided district -- a district that doesn't agree that Klein High is the be all and end all, sucking up precious financial resources which other parts of the district desperately need.

One of the complaints Superintendent Dr. Jim Cain made in the flyer sent home with students is that opponents have wrongly suggested planning is already underway for a 2012 bond. He says, "The district has not planned the next bond, whether for 2012 or any other time." Except that Klein ISD's Chief Financial Officer Thomas Petrek sent the following email to a Klein For All Kids member:

Based on PASA's growth projections, we will need an estimated authorization of approximately $500M - $550M in 2012 or 2013. The debt service rate would peak at the 50 cent limit in 2017-18 and then proceed to decrease from there.

It was based on projections that we will build four elementaries at a cost of approx. $100M, one intermediate at $45M, one high school at $175M, three pre-k centers at $35M, $45M in short technology, facility assessments/renovations district-wide at $70M, stadium at $50M, all other at $30M.

Four new elementaries, one middle school and one new high school will need to be built -- those are the projects that opponents of the 2008 bond wanted to see funded with the 2008 bond.

You know, sometimes these types of decisions have consequences.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/11/08 12:01 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)

METRO Consent Agreement up for discussion this week

This Tuesday, City Council's Transportation, Infrastructure and Aviation Committee will discuss an important topic:

AGENDA

May 13, 2008
10:00 a.m.

City Council Chambers
901 Bagby, 2nd Floor

I. Welcome – Council Member Sue Lovell, Chair

II. METRO Consent Agreement

III. Public Comments

Action may be taken on any of the above items. For special needs or information about this committee, please contact Ryan Leach 832-393-3013.

The posted agenda is a tad light on details, so it's not clear if this is related to one line, five lines, or all of METRO Solutions. You may recall an interview Mary Sit conducted with METRO CEO Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson during which it was stated that Mayor White wants one consent agreement to cover all five rail lines, but Wilson wants one consent agreement to cover the entire METRO Solutions program.

Of course, since these meetings are always held on weekdays during traditional work hours, most of us can't attend. But if you're lucky enough to have some flexibility, you might want to mosey on down there and see what's going on.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/11/08 07:21 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)

10 May 2008

Randal O'Toole is coming to Houston

Barry Klein passes along this email announcement from Randal O'Toole:

Last week, the Cato Institute released my report on rail transit and the environment. The report shows that most light-rail lines use as much energy per passenger mile as an SUV and emit as much greenhouse gases as the average automobile. I conclude that cities that want to save energy or minimize greenhouse gas emissions should not build rail transit, but should instead take steps to reduce emissions from automobiles by relieving congestion.

You can download the full report from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-615.pdf

I will present this report at the 2008 Preserving the American Dream conference in Houston this May 16-18. The conference will also feature speakers on the environmental impacts of various land uses and residential densities as well as many other topics. Plus this will be an unparalleled opportunity to see what life is like in a major city without zoning. For more information, go to http://americandreamcoalition.org/pad08.html

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/10/08 05:08 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (9)

Voting day

I just returned from voting in the Lone Star College bond referendum, and also drove through our local elementary school parking lot where Klein ISD bond voting was taking place. I took advantage of early voting last week to vote no on the Klein bond.

Both locations were pretty darn empty this morning.

School bond votes really should be held in November when there would be a much greater turnout. I imagine the "school lobby" would not be in favor of that.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/10/08 12:26 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)

08 May 2008

Carol Alvarado's grueling 40 hour work-month

Tom Bazan forwarded METRO's contract with Carol Alvarado which he received following a TxPIA request. Here are several excerpts:

Consulting services will be provided as requested and will include consulting on issues such as, but not limited to the following: advice and guidance on working cooperatively with local entities to help facilitate the successful implementation of the METRO Solutions program, to serve as liaison to and develop and maintain relationships with various stakeholders and entities such as The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District, H-GAC, local chambers of commerce and various community organizations, serve as METRO's representative for the strategic planning of public policy initiatives by working in cooperation with the Texas Transit Association, The Southwest Transit Association and similar organizations, communicate with elected officials at the federal, state and local levels as required to ensure that METRO's programs and initiatives receive support, work proactively with the community to identify and resolve problems and concerns of stakeholders and provide assistance to METRO in attracting eligible small businesses and employee recruitment. These consulting services consist only of advisory services to METRO and specifically exclude any representation of METRO to or before the Mayor of the City of Houston, Houston City Council, or departments of the City of Houston during this agreement.

[snip]

Consultant shall be compensated at the rate of $150.00 per hour for services performed under this contract.

[snip]

Payment will be made monthly to the Consultant within thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of a properly prepared invoice[...]

What follows is Carol Alvarado's first invoice. Note the extraordinary detail she included:

Consulting work performed January 14-February 14, 2008. 40 hrs @ $150.00 and [sic] hour.

Consulting work covers briefings and staff meetings with METRO representatives. Included during this period includes meetings (in person and phone) with various elected officials and their staff, East Downtown TIRZ representatives and various community representatives. In addition, meeting preparation, phone and email responding.

TOTAL DUE: $6000.00

Forty hours of work, $6,000 due, and METRO says it cannot find a single document related to her consultant work.

Wow.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/08/08 07:19 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (18)

Why are concealed carry applications on the rise?

State officials may be baffled, but I have a theory:

METRO says their ridership numbers have been increasing.

PREVIOUSLY: "Metro says you can legally carry a gun on a bus if you have a concealed weapons permit for it."

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/08/08 05:05 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (20)

07 May 2008

Klein ISD bond proponents getting ruffled

Anyone who drives around the Klein ISD area has seen the big VOTE YES signs all over the place. Well, the VOTE NO side invested in some signs as well (not nearly as many of course, but a few), and we have put a few up.

Today I noticed that my VOTE NO sign had disappeared. Gone!

I emailed my friend Connie O'Donnell to tell her, and she replied that she caught some people as they were trying to take her VOTE NO sign out of her front yard late this afternoon! They drove off when she opened her front door to see what was going on.

Good grief! There are very few VOTE NO signs in comparison to the VOTE YES signs. What can proponents possibly be worried about?

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/07/08 08:04 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (17)

Carol Alvarado's paperless trail

Back in April Tom Bazan filed a TxPIA request with METRO regarding Carol Alvarado's employment as a consultant:

I received the METRO contract [LA0800024] engaging Consultant Alvarado, and an invoice for services performed on behalf of METRO between January 14 through February 14, 2008. I also asked for a copy of her resume, any METRO RFQ, along with any letters, memos, notes, and/or consultant reports she has generated on behalf of METRO.

Thank you,

Tom Bazan

After a second request for a resume, a METRO RFQ, along with any letters, memos, notes, and/or consultant reports generated by Ms. Alvarado, Tom received a response from METRO:

Dear Mr. Bazan,

Regarding your request for a copy of Ms. Carol Alvarado's resume, METRO RFQ, along with any letters, memos, notes, and/or consultant reports Ms. Alvarado has generated on behalf of METRO, please be advised that while Ms. Alvarado has provided consultant services pursuant to the contract, there are no documents responsive to your specific request.

That's just priceless!

PREVIOUSLY: METRO pays Carol Alvarado $150 per hour!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/07/08 07:46 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (14)

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+Links to Houston
+Pollstar (Houston)
+RadioInfo.com (Houston)
+Red Pub